Cost of living comparison

New Zealand

compared to

United States

New York City vs. Queenstown Cost of Living Summary

New York City is 82.7% more expensive than Queenstown.

Restaurants: pay 74.5% more in New York City
Groceries: pay 49.7% more in New York City
Transportation: pay 1.6% more in New York City
Housing: pay 2.5 times more in New York City
Childcare: pay 5.3 times more in New York City
Entertainment and Sports: pay 72.7% more in New York City
Clothing: pay 19.0% more in New York City

The cost of childcare, housing, restaurants, entertainment and sports, groceries, and clothing in New York City are more expensive than in Queenstown. Notably, childcare and housing are significantly more expensive in New York City.

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New York City vs. Queenstown Cost Breakdown

If you lived in New York City instead of Queenstown, you would:

Display currency: USD

pay 74.5% more for restaurants

	Queenstown	New York City
Basic meal with drink at inexpensive restaurant	$14.01 NZ$24.96	$26.50	+89.2%
Fast food combo meal McDonalds, or similar	$8.96 NZ$15.97	$14.50	+61.8%
Bottle of Coca-Cola (11 fl. oz)	$2.07 NZ$3.69	$3.95	+90.6%
Bottle of water (11 fl. oz)	$2.04 NZ$3.64	$2.97	+45.1%
Average			+74.5%

Queenstown vs. New York City - Cost of restaurants

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pay 49.7% more for groceries

	Queenstown	New York City
Bread 1 loaf	$1.96 NZ$3.48	$4.78	+144.5%
Local cheese (8 oz)	$4.17 NZ$7.43	$9.47	+127.1%
Milk (1 gallon)	$8.05 NZ$14.35	$5.13	-36.3%
Eggs 1 dozen	$5.77 NZ$10.29	$6.03	+4.4%
Boneless chicken breast (1 lb)	$4.50 NZ$8.02	$7.93	+76.2%
Apples (1 lb)	$1.34 NZ$2.38	$3.11	+133.2%
Bananas (1 lb)	$1.05 NZ$1.88	$0.96	-8.5%
Oranges (1 lb)	$1.70 NZ$3.03	$2.83	+66.5%
Tomatoes (1 lb)	$2.44 NZ$4.36	$3.08	+26.0%
Potatoes (1 lb)	$1.56 NZ$2.79	$1.83	+16.7%
Onions (1 lb)	$0.82 NZ$1.46	$2.04	+149.4%
Average			+49.7%

Queenstown vs. New York City - Cost of groceries

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pay 1.6% more for transportation

	Queenstown	New York City
Gasoline (1 gallon)	$6.42 NZ$11.45	$4.31	-33.0%
Monthly public transit pass	$120.44 NZ$214.64	$140.00	+16.2%
New Volkswagen Golf 1.4 (standard edition)	$25,209.21 NZ$44,924.20	$35,458.00	+40.7%
Taxi trip in downtown area (5 miles)	$17.47 NZ$31.13	$20.44	+17.0%
Average			+1.6%

Queenstown vs. New York City - Cost of transportation

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pay 2.5 times more for housing

	Queenstown	New York City
Internet connection 50 mbps or faster, cable/dsl	$51.87 NZ$92.44	$71.57	+38.0%
1-Bedroom apartment in downtown area	$1,488.74 NZ$2,653.02	$4,447.32	+198.7%
1-Bedroom apartment outside city center	$1,267.18 NZ$2,258.19	$3,217.65	+153.9%
Utilities for two (700 sq ft apartment) including electric, gas, water, heating	$84.02 NZ$149.73	$164.80	+96.1%
Average			+152.9%

Queenstown vs. New York City - Cost of housing

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pay 5.3 times more for childcare

	Queenstown	New York City
Private preschool for 1 child, monthly	$964.30 NZ$1,718.43	$3,379.10	+250.4%
Middle school for 1 child, two semesters	$7,562.76 NZ$13,477.26	$60,882.67	+705.0%
Average			+431.1%

Queenstown vs. New York City - Cost of childcare

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pay 72.7% more for entertainment and sports

	Queenstown	New York City
Domestic/local beer (1 pint)	$6.72 NZ$11.98	$8.50	+26.4%
Cappuccino in mid-range area	$3.22 NZ$5.74	$6.50	+101.8%
Pack of cigarettes Marlboro or similar	$26.89 NZ$47.92	$19.00	-29.3%
Monthly membership at local gym	$55.32 NZ$98.58	$121.41	+119.5%
Movie ticket to theater/cinema	$10.22 NZ$18.22	$22.50	+120.1%
Average			+72.7%

Queenstown vs. New York City - Cost of entertainment and sports

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pay 19.0% more for clothing

	Queenstown	New York City
Regular jeans Levi's brand	$58.26 NZ$103.82	$75.86	+30.2%
Regular dress from H&M or similar store	$45.94 NZ$81.86	$54.45	+18.5%
Running shoes Nike or Adidas	$91.03 NZ$162.23	$120.38	+32.2%
Men's business shoes (leather)	$134.45 NZ$239.60	$132.00	-1.8%
Average			+19.0%

Queenstown vs. New York City - Cost of clothing

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We average the price of thousands of data points entered by users across the world. Sources: MyLifeElsewhere's cost-of-living dataset (prices updated October 2026). How we calculate this

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